2011 in Review, Issue 27 - Shenango River Watchers

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U.S. POSTAGE
Shenango
River
Watchers
PAID
Permit No. 48
Sharon, PA
P.O. Box 986
Sharon, PA 16146
2011 In review & 2012 Upcoming Events
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS:
President
Don Clowes
Vice President
Carol Budanka
Treasurer
Tom Amundsen
Secretary
Gwendolyn Maxfield
CHECK INSIDE FOR THE 2012 EVENTS
DON’T MISS OUT ON THE FUN OF PICNICS,
GARDEN PARTIES, WINE & CHEESE EVENTS,
“FUN”NEL CAKE MAKING, CANOE TRIPS.....
Jennifer Barborak
Rick Barborak
Hugh Clark
Joyce Cuff
John Eaton
Daniel Godinich
Anna Mary Hoovler
Joel Ristvey
Mark Russell
and you thought we only did Clean Ups......
Oh Yeah!!!!! There’s Those events TOO
AS WELL AS RECYCLING EVENTS!!!!!
Join US and Support the SRW Efforts to
“Clean, Preserve & Protect”
The Shenango River Watershed....
the whole thing and not just part of it.
Shenango River
Watchers, Inc.
P.O. Box 986
Sharon, PA 16146
724-342-5453
[email protected]
www.shenangoriverwatchers.org
Like us on
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The Water Trail
The Water Trail (at least informally, a “water trail”) is good to go! At the end of August, we finished
the work to reopen the channel from Pymatuning State Park to Greenville’s Riverside Park. This is the first
time in recent memory that you can float this reach of river without obstruction or portage.
To celebrate and announce to the paddling world our accomplishment, we held “PaddleFest 2011” on
Saturday, October 1. SRW provided a free bus shuttle, with buses graciously provided by St. Paul’s Community (a wonderful retirement community in Greenville), Fry’s Transportation, and Anderson Bus Tours.
With a contribution from the Greenville Wal Mart, the Jamestown Lions, and SRW board member Carol
Budanka, we also provided a free hot-dog lunch at the end of the float. The Jamestown VFD Water Rescue
team made the float to help protect novice paddlers. The State Parks provided 18 or so kayaks, and we
provided our rack of canoes.
All was in preparation for a grand day on the water. Then, several days before the float, our weather
attacked us. Several days of rain and temps in the 40s and 50s turned off many paddlers. The day of the
event, the weather was as bad. We wouldn’t have been surprised if we had 10 attendees. To our absolute
amazement, at about 8:00 a.m., the paddlers started pouring in to Pymatuning Park’s launch site! At one
point, we counted 123 kayaks and canoes on the bank. Paddlers are a hardy lot.
While the weather remained cool, if not cold, the rain abated. Over the course of two hours, the
paddlers hit the water and made what was generally a 2.5-hour float. All kayaks made it unscathed, but
several canoes did dump, including that of our President, Don Clowes. Of interest, almost all ‘boats’ were
kayaks, with perhaps only 10 canoes of the total. Clearly, the sport is going to kayaks for recreational
floating.
We had paddlers from Harrisburg, Philadelphia, upstate NY, the Pittsburgh area, from the
Youngstown/Hubbard metro, Butler and a fellow from Cleveland. Amazing.
Since then, we’ve had scores of paddlers on the river—ranging from Boy Scout Troop 51 from Transfer, to individual women in their 60’s…none of this
was possible until we did what we did!
Looking ahead to next year, we hope (based
on success in fund raising) to prune the lower half
of the river between Greenville and Big Bend.
We’ll have a PaddleFest 2012 either on that reach
or again on the upper reach, depending. The Girl
Scouts are actively planning a Camporee over
Memorial Day weekend. That entails girls from
any number of troops camping Friday night in
Pymatuning State Park’s Group Campsite, and then
floating to Greenville on Saturday with a second
night of camping and festivities in Riverside Park.
Our friends at Mercer County Trails (bicycle people) want to have a weekend event with a PedalFest
on a Saturday, and a PaddleFest on the following Sunday. We’ll be looking into that with them this spring.
Clean Up and Recycling 2011 –
Topping off 10 years of Clean up
Earth Day
Our 10th year of clean up activity started the way we often
do, on or around Earth Day. SRW conducted our annual “Earth
Day” clean up event on April 16. We were fortunate to have a
hardy group of over 50 or so dedicated members and volunteers.
We worked through some difficult and soggy weather and
produced some remarkable work in Wheatland and Hermitage.
In Wheatland we scoured an area near the Shenango River,
surrounded by wetlands, that was in terrible shape from large
scale, scattered illegal dumping that was predominated with
household trash and tires. This area was truly transformed by the
removal of about 1253 tires and approximately 24 cu. yards of
trash by the hard work of many volunteers. We also recycled
1,700 pounds of steel. Up the road in Hermitage, a smaller, but
mighty crew cleaned some nasty accumulation of trash and tires
along a steam at the Kennedy Catholic High School. This was a
tough place to work on a good day as working along a stream
bank can sometimes be, but our workers made great progress on
an area that was long neglected and abused.
This event was generously supported by Flynn’s Tires in
getting all those tires recycled. Thanks also to Lengel’s Agway
of Hermitage for helping us move the tires and also Pizza Joe’s
of Sharon.
Girl Scouts Clean Up at the Shenango Dam
Girl Scout Senior Troop #30031 out of the Reynolds Service
Unit was led by Tracy Reimold of the Clean Up and Recycling
Committee to clean the outflow area (our Adopt-A-Shore area)
of the US Army Corps of Engineers Shenango Reservoir Project.
Tracy and her girls had one of the few nice Saturdays of spring
on May 21, 2011 to work at readying the area for the upcoming
Memorial Day holiday weekend. During the summer they made
a second visit just to follow up in front of Labor Day. The group
patrolled all of the various trails, overlooks, and parking lots of
this area. Thanks to all the members of Troop #30031 who
helped out in making this area look great (twice).
2011 Memorial Day Tire Recycling
Collection
Our Spring Tire Recycling Collection was held in downtown Sharon on May 28. This was “Tires part II” as our Earth
Day Cleanup was, in large measure, a tire event. Some gray
skies threatened, but the weather was good for the work we
needed to do. The tires were slow to fill our trailer, but with
some extra time and effort in Sharon and Wheatland we
managed to chase down enough tires to get the trailer full. Special thanks to Lenny of Lenny’s Auto Service in Sharon for his
continued support in our tire recycling efforts and Mark
Budanka for again helping us haul tires to get our trailer filled.
Shenango River Watchers
Aluminum Drop off Site
(which is NOT Rick & Jen’s House)
Shenango River Watchers are asking for your donation of any
clean aluminum. All proceeds stay local to help clean, preserve
and protect your watershed.
• Location- Parking lot of The Engraving Place 1945 East
State Street Hermitage, Pa (next to the Hermitage Dairy Queen,
East State Street and Cohassett Drive)
Special thanks to The Engraving Place Owner, Laura Fleming, Tri-County Industries Inc. and Sherwin Williams Paint.
Shenango River Watchers is a non-profit watershed group
formed to restore and protect the environmental, scenic, and
recreational attributes of the Shenango River Watershed. Become
a Member, just $10 yearly for individuals, $20 for families, and
$35 yearly for businesses. Visit shenangoriverwatchers.org
IN MEMORY 2011
In Memory of Betty Williams
Roberta Coryea
James Witzigman
In Memory of John Quincy
Patty Rossi
George & Cindy Webster
Robert Childers
Amy Amundsen
Sandy & David Laurie
Kathy Cardille
Bill & Inge Amundsen
Terri Mahanovich
Kenneth & Carole Starz
John & Missa Eaton
Dennis & Anna Mary Hoovler
In Memory of John Campoli
Duane Piccirilli
In Memory of Del Williams
Amy & Dennis Javens
Joel Ristvey
Mike & Ann Kotyk
Membership Renewals
Kayak and Quilt Winners
Shenango River Watchers has announced the winners for the
Kayak and Quilt Raffles of 2011. A gracious jogger was pulled
from his run at Buhl Park where the winners were drawn on October 31, 2011.
Ernie Fobes was the lucky winner of this year’s Kayak. Ernie
is from West Middlesex and bought his ticket at our chili and
cornbread fundraiser at Munnel Run Farm in October. When
asked if he had kayaked before, he said no. He expressed that he
has always wanted to kayak down the Shenango River but never
had the opportunity. He’s going to try it out in a swimming pool
first! When Leisa, his wife, was asked if she would like to try out
the kayak, she replied “I prefer somethng larger, like a cruise
ship!”
Anita Jones from New Castle was excited to learn she was the
winner of the beautiful hand-quilted, hand-embroidered bird
quilt.
Lawrence Adovasio
Tom Amundsen
Inge Amundsen
Bill Amundsen
Frank & Toni Badolato
Rick, Jennifer & Emma Barborak
Brian Beader
Joel H.s& Mary Jane Beeghly
Bill Bell
Nancy Bergey
Ray Bianco
Melissa Bianco
Dorothy Bieber
Mark & Carol Budanka
Cheryl Christy
Hugh & Tamara Clark
Alice J Clowes
Jozie Clowes
Nick Clowes
Beth Clowes
Don Clowes
Capt. Hank & Kathleen Cocain
Dr. Joyce Cuff
Frank G. Curl, Sr. & Family
Leslie A Danos
Katherine A. David
Kathy Davies
Mary "Babs" Davis
Chris DePaola & Family
Carl Difeo
Robert J Downing
Bill & Spencer Drolsbaugh
Steve & Valorie Dunch
Melissa K. Dunn
John & Missa Eaton
Jen Engelhardt & Family
Linda M. Enterline
Vivian Evans
Don Feigert
Doug & Deb Fitzgerald
Frances Foust
Dean Gathers
Dan & Jess Godinich & Family
Art Hall
David & Sandee Hardman
Ron Hartman
Sally & Greer Hayden
The Hecking Family
Dennis & Anna Mary Hoovler
Frank, Erin, Kim, Allan, Nikolas & Zachary
Hricik
Don Hunter
Gerald Hurayt
Frank Jovenall
Maury Keaveny
John Keaveny
Josh & Nova Kelly
Steve & Gert Kocis
Karen Kosheba
Michael & Ann Kotyk
Caroline S. Krochka
Virginia Lange
Robert F. Lark
Sandra Laurie
Mark Longietti
Thomas Mack
Gwendolyn Maxfield
Trip McBride
Mayor Esther McClimans
Edward McCullough
Brad McGonigle
Sean McKnight & Family
Mike & Sunday McLaughin
Danny McMullen
Frank E. McWilliams
Bill & Carole Meier
Ken Mild
Richard, Diana & Sara Miller
Dane Mitchell
William Moder III
Jim & Christine Mondok
Angie Morocco
William A. Morocco, Sr.
Judith Moroco
Attorney Carl & Paula Moses
Alec, Marcia, Emma & Stewart Moyer
Thomas Ochs
David Ochs
Linda Oman
Dean & Helen Oyen
Tony & Rhonda Paglia
Rosalie C. Palmer
Richard Parks
John Paul & Family
Sam Perry
Ron & Margie Petroski
David Pettitt
Duane Piccirilli
Pinchot-Swogger Family
Steven M. Preston
Babs Quincy
Joel Ristvey
David Roshala
Patty Rossi
Linda Royal
Kathleen Rueberger
Mark Russell
Kathy & Jim Ryan
Ben & Rosann Sauers
Helmut Schumacher
Francis Shafer
Stephen Sherman II
Edward Slavic & Family
Marjorie Stadtmiller
Renee Stigliano & Family
John Thiel Jr.
James Tokar
Larry & Janet Verone
Faith Waida & Family
Elwood & Kathleen Walker
William West
John Williams & Family
Rita Williams
Sam & Pat Woodings
William & Sarah Writt
Michael D Yeatts
Robert G. Yeatts & Family
Business Renewals
Community Action Partnership
of Mercer County
Winslow Engineering
Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc.--Shenango
Hermitage Rotary
UPMC Horizon
Lewis & Ristvey
Shiloh Farm
Gateway Jamestown
Primo Limousine
Ralph Mehler Insurance Agency, Inc.
Roll Forming Corporation
Sharon Regional Health System
Dick's TV
Business Solutions & Services, Inc
Staul's Water Technology
Kurtanich Engineers & Associates, Inc.
Shenango Valley RV Park
Members listed are as of December 31, 2011
Heard from us lately?
Want to stay in touch?
Now is the time
to renew your
2012 Annual Membership
& update us with your
latest address,
email address & phone !
Tri-County Cleanways Our Partners in Clean Up
& Recycling
SRW is pleased to announce that we have recently partnered
with Tri-County Cleanways to further the cause of clean up and
recycling in our watershed. Tri-County Cleanways (TCC) is the
new name for a group with a long history of work in the watershed
and beyond. Formed in 1993 in Lawrence County, the group has
been working to recycle, educate, and cleanup illegal dumping in
lower Shenango since its inception. They extended their reach
eastward by later joining with Butler County to form ButlerLawrence County Cleanways. Mercer County has recently been
added to their coverage area and thus the new name. Their
mission:
“Tri-County Cleanways is a local nonprofit organization
whose mission is to empower
people to eliminate illegal dumping and littering
in Lawrence, Butler, and Mercer Counties.”
The coverage area of TCC represents two of our six watershed counties, but a sizable 59% our watershed area. Simply put,
we can do a better job of clean up and cover more of the watershed with this partnership that brings the expertise and reach of
TCC . SRW and TCC already have plans for events in 2012 that
include litter and dumping cleanups and activities to recycle tires
and appliances, and other special collections. Our goal is to work
with TCC and communicate each other’s events to increase
participation and let our volunteers know how to help in these
efforts. Check our website for activity dates as we develop them
and for more information about Tri-County Cleanways.
The Shale Rush
Ohio and Pennsylvania are a hotbed of activity in the rush to
exploit the vast reserves of natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica
shale. The subject has great significance to us as the entire
Shenango River Watershed exists above these shale deposits.
This resource development and extraction has produced a
great influx of commerce, royalty dollars to landowners, and a
more plentiful supply of relatively clean natural gas for consumers. But from the perspective of waterways protection, it comes
with many concerns. The drilling technique to extract this gas
requires horizontal boring into the shale deposits followed by a
process called “hydraulic fracturing” or “fracking”. Fracking a
single well requires millions of gallons of water, water that must
be provided from our waterways. That water is chemically
treated and pumped into the ground under high pressure to
fracture the shale and release the gas for extraction. Much of the
water will never return to the surface. The water that does return
is in a degraded condition from salt content and the chemicals
used.
The rush to drill is arguably out in front of the laws to deal
with all the particulars of drilling and the adequate protection of
our waters. It is our hope that the responsible practices and
regulation of this industry will be timely and effective in protecting our precious water resources.
Shale drilling will be a part of the PA and OH legislative
agenda and will be making the news for while to come. For now,
keep informed and read more about it. We’ll try to help with that.
New Members
Tom & Karen Winner-Sed
Carley Chavara
Bill Harry
Tim, Colleen Rohrbacher & Family
David Marshall
Cliff Dawson & Family
Jeanne & Terrence Jones
Dan & Susan Wallace
Tom & Mitzi Kuster
Fred Dresch-Sharon
Michael Nelson
Cindy Bodnar
Tom & Rosann Rookey
John DiGiandomenico
Sandy George
Lori Thiel & Family
Ernie Beil
Debbie Fait
Robert & Marti Nicastro
Robert & Helene Dreisbach
Becky Savchuk
Joyce Carr
Kenneth Holsopple & Family
Dan & Sue Brennan & Family
Robert Caven
Tracy Reimold & Family
Elaine Hodge & Family
Alexandria Guy
David Fisher & Family
Justin Magestro
Maggie Kushner
Marlene Snyder
Henry & Kathryn Ekker
Jason Huntsberger & Family
Roger Jones
William Jackson & Family
Anthony & Karla McLusky
Shaun Endicott
Meirel Foltz
Lynn, Joe, & Amanda Gill
Dan Mihalcak
Ed Clowes
Jim Clowes
Joe Kuzmanko
Tawnee Kanter
Daniel Brenner
David, & Mary Beth George & Family
Michael Godinich & Family
Melia James
Gary Hanna
Larry & Dawnle Sheetz
M. E. Tom
Carl & Jayna Spigelmeyer
David & Kathy Shaffer
Sam Livingston
Alie Thompson
Bruce Hezlep
Patricia Monaco & Family
Bernie Solo
Janice Ridenour
Linda Kohut
Marie H. Julian
Joe Galus
Jim Folz
David & Janet Bauder
Glenn Ridenour
Gary Dick
Duane & Pam Beilstein
(Brandon & Kayla)
New Business Members
Reeves Information & Technology
Jamestown Paint & Coating
Rodgers Autobody
SOAR
JAPAN CONNECTION
By Sean McKnight
Hickory High School Student
This past summer I was fortunate enough to participate in
the Japanese American Watershed Stewardship (JAWS)
program. I was one of just 30 students in the United States
selected to participate. The program is funded by the U.S.
Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs. The purpose of the program was to have the
students act as ambassadors representing America while in
Japan, learning about Japanese culture, watershed management and environmental technologies.
The program is really a year-long commit-ment, consisting of 3 parts. First, we completed both group and individual
projects online, helping to prepare us for the trip. Then, of
course, was the trip. After a 4 day orientation in Washington
D.C., was a month-long trip to Japan! And now the participants are to share our experiences with our communities and
use what we have learned to plan and carry out a project to
help our communities.
We traveled from Tokyo to Niigata to Sado Island and
back. We attended many lectures on environmental science
and Japanese culture. While in Tokyo, we toured Tokyo
University, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of
Waterworks, and the Tokyo Water Science Museum. We
traveled by ferry to Sado Island, where we toured the Sado
Units of Niigata University, Sado Marine Biological Station,
and the Crested Ibis Conservation Center.
The green technology we saw that I found most interesting was a warehouse full of snow stored from the winter,
where it was kept all summer to be used as air conditioning in
a nearby building. This kept the building at a much more
comfortable temperature, as it was very hot, without using
the energy required by a standard air conditioning system.
Now that I am home I am sharing my experience with
everyone I can, whether I’m giving a presentation, or just
having a conversation. As for my project, I am going to try
to help my school find a greener alternative to the
Styrofoam trays they often serve in the cafete-ria at lunch.
It was an experience I will never forget, and always appreciate. I learned a lot of lessons during my time in the program.
And if you are ever considering going to Japan, I highly recommend it!
Treasurer’s Report
Summary of 2011
This is a summary of Shenango River Watchers financial
position during 2011. Operating results yielded a loss of $3,236
for calendar year 2011. This was largely the result of timing on
ongoing grant projects completed in 2011 with funds received in
prior years. We received final payment on the Pennsylvania
Growing Greener Grant for the Bank Stabilization project in
Greenville and full payments for the Upper Shenango River Trail
Project completed this past summer. Fundraising income after
expenses totaled $16,676 and included net revenue of $6,576
from the Repeal Day Celebration which was sponsored by the
B.O.A.R.D., $1,808 for the Wine & Cheese Party, Buhl Day
funnel cake sales netted $1,735, this summer’s Duck Race sponsored by Shenango Valley Young Professional provided $1,500,
our annual summer picnic raised $1,472, and the Garden Party
held at DJ’S Greenhouse raised $1,120. Other fundraising
revenue came from the kayak raffle, Agway funnel cake sales,
quilt raffle, Munnell Run Harvest Fest and the Phantom Hockey
game.
Revenue: Our total revenue was $82,865. Grants were our
largest source of revenue and totaled $27,967, followed closely
by fundraising of $27,593, donations of $24,404 and $3,210 from
membership. Money received from recycling cans and metal
totaled $564. Grant funds were made up of the two Growing
Greener Grants which totaled $19,967, Jamestown Lions Club for
$5,000, and Northwest PA Regional Planning of $3,000. Fundraising funds increased with another successful Repeal Day event,
Wine & Cheese Party, Annual Picnic, Garden Party at DJ’s Greenhouse, Kayak raffle and Buhl Day Funnel Cake sale. Donations
largely were given in support of the Upper Shenango River Trail
project and to fund the scholarship fund.
Expenses: Total expenses were $86,101, with 61% of this
total for the completion of the Upper Shenango River Trail at
$52,775. Shenango River Watchers are able to sustain our operations with fundraising activities, membership and donations.
These covered costs are associated with operating the Shenango
River Watchers office, insurance, Buhl Park environmental days,
summer clean-up activities, quarterly newsletters, and fundraising
activities. Office operations of $12,128 which includes support
and utilities and fundraising expenses of $10,917 were our largest
expense categories after grant project expenses.
Thomas Amundsen
Shenango River Watchers Treasurer
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Fundraising:
May 12th
Agway - Funnel Cakes
June 29th
Annual Family Picnic
• Held at the MC Shrine Club
Picnic Grounds, Lamor Rd.,
Hermitage
• Doors open @ 5:00pm
• Buffet Dinner @ 6:00pm
• Prizes, Auctions, Games,
BYOB
• $20 per person
• $5 -10 & Under - Hot Dog,
Side, Beverage & Dessert
July 14th
Garden Party at DJ’s
Greenhouse
• Doors open @ 5:30pm
• Lights Refreshments begin @
6:00pm
• Entertainment
• $20 per person
SRW is giving away $300!!!
There is a catch - it’s a raffle!!!
Drawing is Dec. 10, 2012 and
based upon the PA 3-digit evening
drawing straight
Tickets: $2.00
See any board member, attend any event
or call the office for tickets.
Clean Up & Recycling:
April 21st
Earth Day
• West Middlesex & Sharon
Locations
May 26th
Tire Recycling
• Held at Buhl Park
June 16th
River Sweep
July 21st
Canoe Clean Up
Sept. 3rd
Buhl Day
• Funnel Cakes
Please call the SRW Office, check
out our website or Facebook for
further information.
Sept. 16th
Munnell Run
• Funnel Cakes and Hot Dogs
Fun Stuff:
Oct. 6th
Agway - Funnel Cakes
June 23rd
Canoe Trip
Oct. 11th
Wine & Cheese Party
• Held at Buhl Mansion’s Carriage
House
• Doors open @ 5:30pm
• Beverages served @ 6:00pm
• $30 per person
Sept. 30th
Paddlefest 2012
Further information for these
events are listed on the website,
facebook or call the SRW office.
SRW is ALWAYS in need of BOTTLED WATER and POP for their recreational,
clean up and fundraising events. Please help us out and
DONATE CASES of BOTTLED WATER and POP
Please drop them off at the SRW Office! Thank you!!!
Garden Party
at DJ’s greenhouse
Business Friend
of the River Recipient:
Dj’s Greenhouse
Dennis James,Owner
Paddlefest 2011
Events from 2011 - Rain or Shine....
Youngstown
Phantoms Game
at the
Covelli Center
Agway
Get
Outdoors
Day
at Buhl PArk
Drug Recycling
Program with
Hermitage Police
Department
Family Picnic
Scholarship Winner:
Patrick Martell
Patrick is a 2011 HHS Graduate, attending
Cedarville Univ., where he is studying
Engineering. Patrick is the son of Patty
Martell
Friends of
the River
Recipients:
The B.O.A.R.D.
Spring Clean Up
Before...
During...
and
After
The Water Trail Project
Before
During
After